


A Risk Worth Taking

by JustAnotherFan05



Series: One Shots: A Pepperony Collection [3]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: AU, Action, Drama, F/M, Harold "Happy" Hogan (briefly mentioned), Iron Man - Freeform, James "Rhodey" Rhodes (briefly mentioned) - Freeform, Married Life, Natasha Romanov (briefly mentioned) - Freeform, One Shot, One Shot Collection, Pepperony - Freeform, Pregnant Pepper Potts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-08
Updated: 2018-08-08
Packaged: 2019-06-23 18:57:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15612801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAnotherFan05/pseuds/JustAnotherFan05
Summary: It's been years since Tony Stark has moved on past all his bad habits, but when a difficult situation arises, he immediately falls back onto old instincts. However, Pepper Potts has a little 'secret weapon' of her own that can calm Tony down in any situation. But, will it be enough this time?





	A Risk Worth Taking

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all! 
> 
> This short one shot is a little different from my previous two in that it has a little more action/drama to it... I'm not really good at action writing, but I tried... :)
> 
> Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy it!

It has been over a decade since Tony Stark has cleaned up his act, moving on past his old habits and working hard to become the better man he was meant to be. Through it all, Pepper Potts has been by his side, encouraging and supporting him, refusing to let him slip back down the dark hole they used to live in.

The great Tony Stark is proud to say that he is one decade sober, one decade tobacco free, and one decade anger management controlled – three things he never thought he would be able to overcome.

And his reward? A more than healthy and very romantic relationship with his rock, his better half, his shining star – Pepper Potts Stark, who has been his wife for almost two years. And even better, the couple were six and a half months into the journey of becoming parents; their bouncing baby boy was expected to arrive by the end of the year.

Yes, Tony and Pepper Stark were living their dream lives, with the superhero suit retired and the international conglomerate company remaining on top of the world. Sure, the Avengers weren’t as close as they used to be, but with Rhodey, Happy, and Natasha, the Starks had all they needed.

Until one evening, when Tony took Pepper out for a nice dinner on their wedding anniversary, and things took a turn for the worse.

“I had a great time tonight,” Pepper smiled at her husband, their hands intertwined together as they walked the short walk back to their car.

Tony smiled back at Pepper, taking a moment to admire her beauty and her smile. “Me too.”

“I feel like we’re teenagers again, going on our first date,” Pepper chuckled, rubbing her belly gently.

Although Pepper felt like a balloon, Tony reminded her how beautiful she was every day. It was no surprise to Pepper when she told Tony she was pregnant, and all the genius billionaire could do in response was jump and yelp in pure joy. The moment Pepper’s stomach started to show, Tony cuddled with her more and more, saying he was trying to spend as much time with their baby as he possibly could. Tony _loved_ their baby from the moment he found out he existed, and from the start, he would do anything to make Pepper and their unborn child happy.

But there was another thing Pepper seemed to notice about Tony… There were times when he would get upset or angry at something (or someone, normally at work) and there was seemingly nothing that could calm the former superhero down. Except for one thing, and it was a secret that only Pepper knew of, and it was something only she had the power of using.

So, when Tony and Pepper were walking back to their car and they heard a man behind them yell their names angrily, Pepper hoped she wouldn’t have to use her ‘secret weapon’.

“Stark!” a man called, his voice deep and harsh, like someone who has been building up anger for his entire life. “I’ve been looking for you for a long time!”

Tony slowly stopped walking and turned around, deciding to face the stranger as calmly as possible. “Well, you found me,” he said, slightly sarcastically. “What can I do for you?”

The man scoffed loudly and shook his head, stepping closer and closer to the Stark couple. “What can you do for me?” he repeated, raising his hands above his head in a gesture of mock confusion. “You’ve already done enough.”

“Who are you?” Pepper asked, her business voice and persona coming through in strides, her fear and worry not showing at all.

“I’m nobody,” the man replied. “But to _you_ _two_ , I’m the man about to ruin your lives.”

At that, Tony instinctively went into protection mode, putting his arm in front of Pepper and stepping in front of her to shield her from whatever threat the strange man would deliver. “Listen, you don’t want to do this. It’s not going to end well for you.”

“A man without his suit of armor is just a man,” the stranger smirked, stepping closer to Tony and Pepper, who were now only a few feet away.

“I’m not your average man,” Tony reminded him. “I’m a man who’s grown up surrounded by weapons of destruction.”

“Which is one more reason why you need to pay for your sins tonight,” the stranger added.

“Pepper, stay back,” Tony whispered to his pregnant wife, who nodded quickly and took a couple steps back, still watching closely.

Now, it was just Tony and the stranger, face to face, ready to settle their differences, even if Tony didn’t want to fight anyone.

“So, which sin would you like to atone first?” the stranger cracked his knuckles. “Killing as Iron Man? Or killing as Tony Stark?”

Tony stood tall and stood his ground, unafraid of a fist fight that he was more than capable of winning. “This is your last chance, mister. If you walk away now, we won’t press charges.”

“I have everything to gain and nothing to lose,” the man admitted loudly. “You took everything from me, Stark! My wife, my kids, my career!” he yelled. “And now, you’re gonna pay.”

Before Tony could ask any more questions, the stranger lunged forward and punched Tony across the face, causing Tony to stumble back a few steps.

“Tony!” Pepper yelled, immediately taking out her cell phone and calling 9-1-1. This disagreement just turned into a real fight…

But Tony could take a beating, just like how he has many times before as Iron Man. And not only could he _take_ a beating, but he could also _deliver_ one as well. Tony regained his balance and stared at the man in shock. Everything that happened now was simply self-defense.

So, Tony lunged at the man, punching him in the side and making the man cough. The two exchanged a few tough blows, until Tony got tired of humoring the stranger and went into full hero mode. Tony delivered a few gut punches, then another punch to the kidney area, and finally, a strong right jab into the guy’s temple. The stranger stumbled back, holding onto himself, and eventually fell onto the ground.

“I told you this wouldn’t end well for you,” Tony said, crawling over the man and lifting his hand up to deliver the final blow.

“Tony!” Pepper called, seeing how quickly Tony beat up the strange man. “Stop!”

But Tony wouldn’t stop, he _couldn’t_ stop. His instincts have suddenly taken over, his bad habits have suddenly returned, and for a moment, he was fighting for his life on the battlefield again.

Tony held his fist up, still staring at the stranger with anger filled eyes. How dare this man come up to him and threaten him, threaten his wife and his family, in public, even after everything Tony has done in his past to atone for his sins? How dare this man fight him? How dare he?

Tony was about to thrust his closed fist into the man’s head to knock him out, but then, he felt a familiar pair of soft hands holding onto his raised fist. While using his left hand to keep the strange man pinned down, Tony looked up and saw Pepper standing beside him with a few tears streaking down her cheeks, with her hands wrapped around his fist, and with the saddest look on her face.

She slowly unclenched his fingers and laid his open hand on her belly, piling her hands on top. “Don’t do this, Tony,” she warned him. “Don’t give this up for _him_ ,” she looked down at the stranger underneath Tony’s grip. “He’s not worth it,” and as she finished, Tony felt a small kick against his palm, feeling their baby move in agreement with his mother: her secret weapon.

Tony looked from his hand on Pepper’s belly, up to Pepper’s sad eyes, and down at the man beneath him. In that short moment, Tony returned to his cleaned up self, remembering why he gave up the bad habits in the first place: for Pepper.

Then, in the blink of an eye, everything changed.

The man saw their moment of weakness and suddenly pushed Tony off him, the commotion making Pepper stumble back a few feet and Tony fall onto his back. Then, the man twisted around and suddenly, he was holding a gun.

“Like I said, you’ll pay for your sins,” the man smirked evilly, not hesitating for one more moment as he pulled the trigger and shot Tony straight in the chest.

Tony felt a warm oozing sensation near his heart, then, he felt extremely tired. All he wanted to do was take a nap… But the sound of another gunshot woke him up just long enough for him to see the stranger fall onto the floor with a bullet in his own head.

And as Tony felt his eyes droop with heaviness, the sound of sirens grew louder and louder, alongside the sound of Pepper’s screams turning into faint calls into the air.

“Tony! Please, no, no, no,” Pepper held Tony’s head in her lap, the red pool of blood growing on Tony’s nice shirt. “Stay with me. Don’t go to sleep, do you hear me? Don’t close your eyes!”

Tony fought like hell to keep his eyes open, to smile weakly at his bride, to reassure her that everything would be okay. He wanted to live for her and for their baby. He waited so long for his chance at having a real family and he wasn’t going to let it go anytime soon.

Minutes turned into hours and hours turned into days. Until finally, one week later, Tony Stark woke up in a hospital room with Pepper sleeping quietly on a comfortable looking chair beside him, her hands both resting on her growing belly.

“I thought we agreed,” Tony said, his voice hoarse but loud enough to wake Pepper up. “The next time we’d be in a hospital, we’d be walking out with our baby.”

Pepper woke up with a smile, sighing in relief. “Only you would ruin those plans,” she said as Tony opened his eyes fully to look at his wife. Pepper stood up and moved to Tony’s side, taking a moment to admire Tony’s brown eyes and his relieved smirk. Tony moved his hand to lay on Pepper’s stomach, brushing his thumb back and forth slowly.

“Did he hurt you? Or the baby? Are you two okay?” Tony asked in worry, looking up at Pepper.

“We’re fine, Tony, don’t worry,” Pepper smiled, leaning over to kiss Tony softly. “You, on the other hand, are in big trouble, mister. I thought I told you, ‘No fighting!’ You know it’s risky, _especially_ with strangers and _especially_ without your suit.”

Tony shrugged slightly, feeling a soft pain in his chest. “To protect you and our family? It was a risk worth taking.”

The End…?


End file.
